scholarly journals Educational Aspirations among First-Generation Students and their Parental Influence towards Pursuing Tertiary Education

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 414-418
Author(s):  
Abdul Hamid Abdul Rahim ◽  
Norzaini Azman
Keyword(s):  
Parental Influence ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Educational Aspirations ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
First Generation Students

First Generation Students Navigating Educational Aspirations in Zanzibar and Ghana

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Markovich Morris ◽  
Millicent Adjei
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Educational Aspirations ◽  
Collective Agency ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
Popular Theater

In Ghana and Zanzibar, Tanzania, first-generation students navigate uncertain and precarious conditions in the pursuit of becoming graduates and achieving their educational aspirations. This essay argues that youth in the Global South perform two entwined navigational capacities in this pursuit. First, the capacity for action, or collective agency, harnessed through relations with people in youths’ families, schools, and communities. Second, the capacity to hustle, which is a strategy of mobilizing social connections, life experiences, and tenacity to persevere through struggles and uncertainties. Narratives from fifty-eight first-generation secondary school and university students in Ghana and Zanzibar inductively reveal hustling as a strategy for engaging collective agency in the process of navigating structural barriers. The authors draw on youth-centered methodologies—popular theater and life history approaches—to show the complexity of youths’ experiences in negotiating the challenges and uncertainties in their lives while pursuing an education.

scholarly journals Perspectives of learning during the transition from secondary school to university: A comparative study of first generation university students in Chile and New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Antonio Garcia Quiroga
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Working Class ◽  
University Students ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Positive Contribution

<p>While tertiary education has grown rapidly in most countries in recent years, retention rates and educational success of many first generation students is still below that of their counterparts from tertiary-educated family backgrounds. This presents a significant challenge to universities seeking to better understand and support such students. This comparative study explores the perspectives of learning along educational transitions between school and university that were experienced by two groups of first generation university students in Chile and New Zealand. The research draws on the narratives of 24 working class university students enrolled in teacher education programmes and studying to become teachers. Unlike some previous studies of first generation students that take a deficit approach to the educational under-achievement of working class students, this research assumes that the barriers these students face are primarily located within institutional structures and that the distinctive perspectives of first generation university students make a positive contribution to institutional development.  A photo-elicitation methodological approach was undertaken whereby the participants were asked to collect images that represented their school and university experiences. These images were then assembled onto a storyboard. Group and individual interviews were also conducted.  Through a dialogical approach derived from Bakhtin, the thesis examines the cultural, social and emotional tensions and accomplishments they encountered in the course of their educational journeys through school and university. Employing Bourdieu’s notion of habitus, and Quinn’s notion of imagined social capital, this study found that for New Zealand students, imagined social capital was largely located in institutional contexts, while in Chile these were more closely associated with social groups and peers. The findings show that New Zealand has a more flexible and supportive system of school to university transitions than Chile. In both countries, however, students placed considerable value on experiences that allowed them to connect their own social background with what they learned at university.</p>

scholarly journals Perspectives of learning during the transition from secondary school to university: A comparative study of first generation university students in Chile and New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Antonio Garcia Quiroga
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Working Class ◽  
University Students ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Positive Contribution

<p>While tertiary education has grown rapidly in most countries in recent years, retention rates and educational success of many first generation students is still below that of their counterparts from tertiary-educated family backgrounds. This presents a significant challenge to universities seeking to better understand and support such students. This comparative study explores the perspectives of learning along educational transitions between school and university that were experienced by two groups of first generation university students in Chile and New Zealand. The research draws on the narratives of 24 working class university students enrolled in teacher education programmes and studying to become teachers. Unlike some previous studies of first generation students that take a deficit approach to the educational under-achievement of working class students, this research assumes that the barriers these students face are primarily located within institutional structures and that the distinctive perspectives of first generation university students make a positive contribution to institutional development.  A photo-elicitation methodological approach was undertaken whereby the participants were asked to collect images that represented their school and university experiences. These images were then assembled onto a storyboard. Group and individual interviews were also conducted.  Through a dialogical approach derived from Bakhtin, the thesis examines the cultural, social and emotional tensions and accomplishments they encountered in the course of their educational journeys through school and university. Employing Bourdieu’s notion of habitus, and Quinn’s notion of imagined social capital, this study found that for New Zealand students, imagined social capital was largely located in institutional contexts, while in Chile these were more closely associated with social groups and peers. The findings show that New Zealand has a more flexible and supportive system of school to university transitions than Chile. In both countries, however, students placed considerable value on experiences that allowed them to connect their own social background with what they learned at university.</p>

Test Anxiety in Potential First-Generation Students: A Longitudinal Examination of the Role of Psychological Needs

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-49
Author(s):  
Natalie Spadafora ◽  
Emily L. Murphy ◽  
Danielle S. Molnar ◽  
Dawn Zinga
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Test Anxiety ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Basic Psychological Needs ◽  
Self Report ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
School Students ◽  
Post Secondary

It is estimated that 15-22% of students have high levels of test anxiety (von der Embse, Jester, Roy, & Post, 2018), which can be associated with greater academic stress and poorer educational performance (e.g., Steinmayr, Crede, McElvany, & Withwein, 2016). First-generation students (where neither parent has completed post-secondary education) are a critical group to study given that they are at higher risk for poorer educational attainment and being unsuccessful at the post-secondary level. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the link between basic psychological needs and test anxiety in a sample of first-generation Ontario high school students across two points in time (N = 147;  Mage = 14.82, SD = 1.28). Self-report data was collected as a part of an on-going longitudinal study focusing on students attending a high school with specialized programming to enhance the transition to post-secondary institutions. Results from cross-lagged path analyses indicated that being older, female, and having higher levels of needs frustration significantly predicted higher levels of test anxiety over time within this sample. Our results highlight important educational implications, emphasizing the importance of fostering classroom environments where students perceive their psychological needs to be met, particularly within this unique population of students.

scholarly journals The effect of food insecurity during college on graduation and type of degree attained: evidence from a nationally representative longitudinal survey

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Julia A Wolfson ◽  
Noura Insolera ◽  
Alicia J Cohen ◽  
Cindy W Leung
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Degree Attainment ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Effect Of Food ◽  
Nationally Representative

Abstract Objective: To examine the effect of food insecurity during college on graduation and degree attainment. Design: Secondary analysis of longitudinal panel data. We measured food insecurity concurrent with college enrollment using the 18-question USDA Household Food Security Survey Module. Educational attainment was measured in 2015-2017 via two questions about college completion and highest degree attained. Logistic and multinomial-logit models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics were estimated. Setting: United States (US) Participants: A nationally representative, balanced panel of 1,574 college students in the US in 1999-2003 with follow-up through 2015-2017 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Results: In 1999-2003, 14.5% of college students were food insecure and were more likely to be older, non-White, and first-generation students. In adjusted models, food insecurity was associated with lower odds of college graduation (OR 0.57, 95% CI: 0.37, 0.88, p=0.01) and lower likelihood of obtaining a Bachelor’s degree (RRR 0.57 95% CI: 0.35, 0.92, p=0.02) or graduate/professional degree (RRR 0.39, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.86, p=0.022). These associations were more pronounced among first-generation students. 47.2% of first-generation students who experienced food insecurity graduated from college; food insecure first-generation students were less likely to graduate compared to first-generation students who were food secure (47.2% vs. 59.3%, p=0.020) and non-first-generation students who were food insecure (47.2% vs. 65.2%, p=0.037). Conclusions: Food insecurity during college is a barrier to graduation and higher degree attainment, particularly for first-generation students. Existing policies and programs that help mitigate food insecurity should be expanded and more accessible to the college student population.

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